Dark Devotion: Dark Series 3 Read Free Page B

workshop.”
    “And you are sure of its strength? Fenrir is the largest and fiercest wolf in existence. A simple chain will not suffice.”
    Brok met the All-Father’s eyes. “I am sure. If it does not hold, you can feed me to the wolf yourself.”
    “Go fetch it then. Let me see it before I decide.”
    The craftsman looked to his king first before leaving the large room, his heavy leather boots slamming against the gold floor as he hurried away.
    “You will not be disappointed, my friend. Brok is the best we have. I trust him and his products.”
    The master craftsman returned no more than ten minutes later with the supposedly unbreakable bonds, but as Odin cast his eye over the object in his hands, he could hardly believe the claim.
    Brok’s hands were gently cupping what looked to be nothing more than soft gray ribbon. He offered it to Odin, his head bowed. Skeptical didn’t even begin to cover how Odin was feeling, but he took the proffered ribbon and ran it through his hands.
    “What is this?” he demanded, still studying the fragile-looking object.
    “ Gleipnir ,” Brok replied. “Don’t be fooled by its appearance. It is much stronger than it seems.”
    Odin fixed his green eye on the dwarf. “Impossible.”
    Hreidmar’s booming laugh rang out beside Odin. “The All-Father does not believe in your abilities, Brok. Rago, take him and go and fetch the giant we captured trying to pillage from the village. Show the All-Father how much strength gleipnir has.”
    Both dwarves disappeared out the door. The silence was cut by a thunderous roar, which echoed through the room. Odin sank farther into his seat, his eyes fixed on the open doorway.
    Hreidmar’s grin was splitting his face in two, the anticipation shining in his eyes. “A fire giant,” he announced proudly. “He wanted to steal from me.”
    “How did you capture it?” Odin quizzed, still watching the doorway. Giants were known to be the physically strongest beings in the Nine Worlds. They were hard to catch and even harder to restrain.
    The king’s gaze settled on him, that same smile still firmly in place. Leaning forward, he said, “I’m not in the habit of revealing all my secrets, Odin.”
    Odin nodded, turning his face back to the door. Long shadows formed outside, getting shorter as the captive and its master approached.
    Brok walked through the door, gleipnir firmly wrapped around his fist. Odin followed the other end of the gray ribbon up, up, up until it finished around the throat of the fire giant. With red scales covering its entire body, and two small horns protruding from its head, the creature was dressed in nothing else but a loin cloth. Odin wasn’t sure if it was a male or a female as both sexes wore the same thing and looked the same. The fire giant’s red eyes scanned the room as it hunched over to get through the doorway. As it straightened, Odin could see there were wounds on its body. Shallow cuts covered its chest, but they looked to have been self-inflicted.
    As Brok gave one last tug, the giant began gripping the ribbon with its huge hands, trying to break it – but no matter how much it struggled, it could not sever the bond. Intrigued, Odin stood up and took a step toward the pair.
    “It’s quite safe,” Brok said, yanking violently on gleipnir . The giant bellowed in pain. The ribbon tightened around its neck and it fell to its knees. The whole room shuddered with the impact, the flames in the sconces flickering.
    Odin walked up to the now felled giant and studied it. He had business with the giants, but that business was always conducted at a distance and through intermediaries. Up close, he could see the iridescent sheen to its scales, and the almost fragile makeup of its horns. The giant’s red eyes were defiant, yet broken at the same time. Odin did not know what its fate would be, but if it had been trying to steal from the dwarves as Hreidmar claimed, then its punishment would be drawn out and